


Here

by LadyofHeart



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Azran Legacy Spoilers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Azran Legacy, all im gonna write is, and layton and luke being a father son duo, by like a few days, mentions of some others - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-05 03:12:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15855054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyofHeart/pseuds/LadyofHeart
Summary: After everything that happened to them concerning the Azran, Layton and Luke have a moment to talk some of their fears over.





	Here

Silence had clung to Luke like a second skin since the end of his journey on the Bostonius. So much had happened in so little time, and his mind was still catching up with him. The things he saw, the decisions he made. The decisions he made so effortlessly. He waited for Emmy or the professor to say something and take the step in conversation, but there was nothing. Emmy looked vacant, while the professor was guarded in a way he had never seen before. He was too exhausted to speak.

It really hit him back at London. Emmy parted for the night, hardly a breath wasted, and the professor wordlessly led Luke back to his flat. After dropping a few things off, he would bring Luke home, and begin an explanation of the most bizarre and saddest events he had yet to face. He stood in the entrance of the professor’s flat, while the professor himself left to place some things away.

With no one to follow around and their destination almost met, Luke was left to remember everything that happened. The emotions caught up before memory could. The raw feeling of losing someone he had grown to care for, the sudden reveal of a friend as an enemy, the inability to grasp his own death. On some level, he was aware of just how terrible that last thing was, but his mind wouldn’t let him wander in the thought for long. Nothing was meant to come back from death, and to his brain, it was near incomprehensible.

The tears came despite his best efforts. After Aurora, he had done so well to keep quiet and stoic. If Emmy and the professor did, then so would he. But it was too late to stop now. He was so confused and hurt and, above all else, scared. The adrenaline had seeped away over hours, and even though the worst of the storm was over, he was still scared. The Azran had been a trap he barely escaped from. They were beyond his understanding. It was too much.

He didn’t mean for the professor to see him like this, fighting back tears in his foyer. It felt very ungentlemanly of him, and he expected to be told so, but all the professor did was put his things down and slowly approach him.

“Luke,” he said in a heavy tone. He kneeled to make better eye contact. “It’s alright, my boy. You’re safe now.”

He knew that, he knew that so well, but it did nothing to chase these feelings. He wiped his tears with the back of his sleeve. “I just-” He cut himself off. He didn’t know what he wanted to say.

“I understand,” said the professor. “Today has been overwhelming, to put it mildly. But after everything that has happened, you are safe and you are home.” His gaze dropped to the floor. They both knew that nearly wasn’t the case. It had been so easy to be brave in that moment - it was die helping or die by Azran golems - and he knew there was no option. Being brave didn’t mean he wasn’t shaken to his core.

“Luke, I…” The professor paused, pulling on his hat to cover his eyes. “It was far from ideal. What I thought would be an amazing archaeological discovery with friends turned into brutality that you should have never witnessed. I am beyond ashamed that you were put in that situation.”

“P-Professor!” He could hardly believe this! “You can’t - it wasn’t your fault! There’s no way you could have known all of that. Or prevented it! I made that choice.”

“It was beyond a choice, my boy.” He sighed. “Last year in Monte d’Or, when Randall had taken you and endangered you, I had felt nothing more than dread and the weight of my responsibility. Your parents, my dearest friends, trust me to guide and take care of you. More than that, you have grown to mean a great deal to me on your own merits. I knew in that moment that if you had been harmed I could never forgive myself. But I could not stop you or Emmy or… or Aurora from coming to harm despite my best intentions.”

The professor finally let go of his hat, looking to meet Luke’s eyes while his own were becoming shiny with unshed tears. Seeing that just made him want to cry more. “I’ve failed you all,” he said. “And that will be a guilt I cannot live down. I have lost too many people. I cannot lose anymore.”

Luke inhaled a shaky breath. “You didn’t fail us.” He tried to keep his voice as steady as possible. “You couldn’t have. We all did what we had to. I didn’t want to lose you, either!” In his mind, the professor was so secure and confident that it never really occurred to him that he could get hurt, or worse. Now, that idea was permanently shattered and buried. He was beginning to understand the dread and responsibility the professor had mentioned. 

The professor stared at him before a weak smile appeared on his face. “I thought I was the one here to comfort you. I haven’t said it often, but I am proud of you, Luke.” He put a hand on his shoulder. “Your bravery, your intelligence, you have the makings of a true gentleman. Perhaps more so than myself.”

He knew then that his words were never really going to hit home. No matter how much he reassured him, the guilt remained. He would have to find a way to prove it to the professor in the language he spoke best - logic. But for now, he was beaming at the compliment despite his tear-streaked face. “Thank you, Professor.” He threw his arms around him in a tight hug. Normally, the professor returned hugs with one arm or a pat on the back in a stiff manner. But something seemed to give, because he hugged Luke back just as tightly, like he might slip away.

Finally, the feeling of safety was returning to him. 

 

 

Hershel hugged Luke back, the tears that had been pricking his eyes finally pouring over. The boy was so small, so young, so innocent. He hardly let Emmy’s betrayal taint their relationship. Clark and Brenda trusted him to be his guardian and protector when they went off, and he knew Luke trusted him for that protection too. And yet he felt the full weight of failure as he held him. It was by the will of the Azran and poor Aurora that they had been spared, not his ability to rectify the situation. Logically, he was aware just how far it had spiraled away from him and how quickly he was hit by all the events, staggered by their heaviness, and yet he still ran the events through his head, desperate to know if anything could have changed.

Second guessing was a familiar process. He had done it with Randall. He had done it with Claire. But with Luke? He couldn’t handle it anymore. Losing Luke would be more than just another loss. It would be the straw on the camel’s back, it would destroy his relationship with Clark and Brenda. It would destroy him. He nearly didn’t want to let go, but he had to get Luke back to his parents and explain this mess as best he could.

He looked at Luke’s tear stained face and sighed. Given a few more moments of talking, he would look just like him. “Well, I believe we shouldn’t keep your parents waiting. We have much to tell them.” Luke yawned. “Or perhaps I will drop by tomorrow to explain. I think we have both earned some rest.”

He wondered with slight horror as they walked out the door; would he ever be able to be around Luke after this? Would walking through this door sever the relationship between him and the Tritons, whom he loved so dearly? It would be a leap he had to take, but one that he would not come back from unscathed. 

He felt Luke’s small hand find his own, the way he usually did when he was scared, like when they crossed the bridge in the jungle. He looked down at him. “Ready?”

Luke nodded, the worst of the tears seemingly behind him, and they left the flat together.

**Author's Note:**

> i make my hill on having characters talk about traumatic things or comfort each other. mostly i just wanted more conversations post azran.


End file.
